The Impact of Article Method Type and Subject Area on Article Citations and Reference Diversity in JM, JMR, and JCR

Abstract

It has been argued that the scientific status of the marketing discipline is reflected in both the ability of its articles to be cited and the degree to which its articles draw from a diverse set of reference sources. We combine a content analysis of a sample of 561 JM, JMR, and JCR articles with a citation analysis and reference analysis of those same articles to investigate the impact of article method type and subject area on article citation rates and reference diversity. Our results reveal that verbal-theory and field study papers are both more likely to be cited and more likely to draw from a wide variety of journal and disciplinary reference sources. The results also reveal that services/customer satisfaction and general theory and philosophy of science articles are generally more likely to be cited than other subject areas, although services/customer satisfaction articles are also less likely to rely on a diverse set of references.